Invest in experiences, not things

The real cost of buying a boat to date: $6,243.83

November 28, 2011by Nate |

Buying a new boat costs money, and lots of it.

When you buy a boat there are lots of expenses to deal with. Here’s a timeline with amounts we spent to buy Miles of View, a Cheoy Lee Offshore 41. We had to drive up to Santa Barbara from San Diego each time we wanted to see the boat, and that’s about a 4 hour drive. We could have saved more money by packing food and staying with family in Lompoc.

One cool thing about buying a boat with a broker is that they’ll help take care of scheduling all the surveys and sea trials. They can also take care of making sure everyone gets paid by from the down payment money. When it comes time to close the deal any left over money will be applied to the closing cost. Brokers can also help with title transfer and registration.

October 22, 2011: Initial viewing $163.36

Item

Amount

Type

Lunch, Santa Barbara Brewing Co

$44.25

Food

Gas

$78.14

Travel

CoCo Ichibanya

$40.97

Food

October 24, 2011: Made an offer and 10% down payment check $4,700.00

November 10, 2011: Survey Day $1280.47

Item

Amount

Type

Motel 6

$62.12

Travel

Surveyor: Mike Pyzel

$600

Survey

Haul Out

$416.77

Survey

Gas

$62.45

Travel

Red Lobster

$24.46

Food

CoCo Ichibanya

$19.64

Food

Dominos Pizza

$35.61

Food

Motel 6

$59.42

Travel

November 18, 2011: Rigging Survey $100.00Deducted from the down payment, paid through broker

November ##, 2011: Mechanical Survey $123.45Deducted from the down payment, paid through broker

There will be more posts to come about the real cost of buying a boat, but this is where we stand on November 28.

Hi! We’re Nate, Natalie and Sully and here’s our plan:

Our mantra is "Invest in experiences, not things." Our goal is to travel and experience everything life has to offer before we get too old. To meet that goal, we bought a boat and lived aboard while outfitting her for coastal cruising. We 'cut the dock lines' in November 2014 and now we are heading south along the coast from San Diego to Mexico! This blog is to help us remember our trip and so our friends and family can follow along on our journey.